Tray



ug. 9, 1938. J. soLoMoN 2,126,353

TRAY

Filed April 4, 193e rff" i y27 www M 5mm oLowoN Patented Aug. 9, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFHQE Claims.

vThe present invention relates to improvements in trays and has for anobject to provide a simple, light and very strong structure.

Another object is to provide a structure Which 5 is readily assembled without the use of bolts,

rivets, glue or the like.

Another object is to provide for attachment ofthe end members and the handles of a tray directly to the side members Without the use Of any of the above.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and Will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. l

Figure 1 is a top plan View of a tray made according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same with part of the side broken away.

Figure 3 is a detail View of a corner of the tray looking at the end.

Figure 4 is a detail view of a corner looking at the side.

Figure 5 is a detail vertical section of a corner taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 3, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary showing of the parts assembled in Figure 3.

Referring now to Figure 1, I!) designates the floor of the tray which may be of fibre, glass or other ornamental material. With the floor made of glass a pad II is placed beneath the iloor to cushion the same as shown in Figure 2. The tray has opposite side pieces I2 and I3, end pieces I4 and I5 and end handles I6 and I'I. The side pieces I2 and I3, as will be seen in Figure 5, are

composed of a web I8 the lower portion of which is inturned to form the underlapping ledge I9 for the oor Ill and pad II. The upper part of the web I8 is downturned to form the retaining member 20 which bears on the top of the floor I0 to hold the same on the flange I9. rIhe opposite ends of the side pieces I2 and I3 are provided with tabs, the web i8 having formed thereon the tab 2| and the downturned portion 2S having the tab 22.

The end pieces I4 and I5, as will be seen in Figures 2 and '7, have the end piece proper 23 which is reinforced by doubling the metal, of which it is made, and the inturned flange 24 which underlaps the oor Ill and pad II. The

opposite ends of these end pieces are provided with a pair of slits 3B registering with the tabs 2l and 22 of the side pieces and through which the tabs are adapted to pass. The ledges 213 have formed at opposite ends the buttons 25 on which the tray is rested. In position the ledges 24 overlap the ends of the flanges I Si.

The handles I6 and i'I consist in a tubular grip 26 which is retained at opposite ends in the loop of the bracket 2l. This bracket has formed at its lower portion a pair of slits 3i corresponding to i those of the end pieces.

The tray is assembled by passing the tabs 2l and 22 of the side pieces successively through the slits in the end pieces and the handle brackets after which the tabs are bent in opposite direc- 15 tions as shown in Figure 3. The tabs thus serve to hold the side piece, the end piece and the handle bracket and as they may be bent in opposite directions form a firm and strong joint. The two side pieces may be attached to one end piece 9 and the brackets of one handle and then the pad II and oor It) of the tray placed in position on the ledges of the side pieces and the end piece and under the retaining members 2t of the sideV pieces. After the floor and pad are in place the 25 other end piece and handle may be attached in the same Way. The assembly, therefore, is very simple and may be performed rapidly and Without use of any elaborate equipment.

Itwill be noted that the tabs 2l and 22 are Si not parallel and therefore when bent after the parts are assembled the strains transmitted through them do not have the same tendency to sheer them from the side pieces. as is the case with parallel tabs. The side pieces are resilient 373 and very light and the overturned portion 2!) produces a strong reinforcement of the web I8 which alone would not have a great deal of strength. The resilient overturned portion bears on the upper part of the floor I@ acting to keep a il resilient pressure on the same to hold it on the underlapping flange and yet shield it from shock by reason of its resiliency. The use of the overturned side piece likewise makes it possible to have the two tabs at each end. The double tab L as before stated is bent in opposite directions to produce a joint of the required strength.

It will readily be seen that this structure permits the use of thin side and end members so readily adaptable to modernistic design While 5W the structure does not sacrifice any needed strength to this ornamentation.

It is obvious that various changes and modications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described 55 embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. A tray having opposite side pieces, opposite end pieces, a handle at each end, a floor, and tabs at each end of said side members, said end pieces having end slots to receive said tabs, said handles also having slots to receive said tabs, the side pieces serving at once to retain the end pieces and handles by means of said tabs.

2. A tray having a floor, opposite side pieces underlapping said floor from the sides and overhanging said floor, opposite end pieces under- Y lapping said floor, tabs at the ends of said side pieces, said end pieces having slots to receive said tabs, and end handles extending across the tray and provided at opposite sides of the tra with tab receiving slots. v

3. A tray having a floor, side pieces consisting in a web, a floor underlapping ledge to support the oor, and a downturned floor overlapping portionto retain the oor against said underlapping ledge, opposite end pieces having oor underlapping ledges, handles extending across said end pieces and including grips and brackets at the ends of said grips, tabs at the ends of said web and said overlapping portion of the side pieces, said end pieces having a pair of tab receiving slits for said tabs at each end thereof, and said brackets having tab receiving slits registering with the slits of said end pieces, said tabs adapted to pass through the slits in said end pieces and said brackets and to be bent away from one another at their ends.

4. A tray comprising a frame having side and end rails, each rail having a base iiange and the flanges of the side rails overlapping the iianges of the end rails and the latter flanges having depressed portions providing supporting buttons for the tray, said side rails having overturned inner side portions diverging downwardly and overhanging the tray to hold the same on the anges, handle brackets disposed at the corners of the frame with their lower ends engaging the outer faces of the end rails, and handle bars mounted in the upper portions of the brackets, said side rails having a pair of tongues at each end with one tongue of each pair extending from the inner side portions of the side rails and the end rails and the handle brackets having spaced registering slots therein for the reception of the respective tongues, said tongues being overturned at their outer ends against the outer faces of the brackets to unite the side and end rails in the frame and secure the handle brackets. to the frame.

'5. In'a tray, the combination of a floor plate, substantially flat vertical end pieces extending along the ends of the floor plate having hori- Zontal flanges underlapping the bottom surface ci" the floor plate and openings at their ends in the vertical flat portion, side pieces extending along the sides of the oor plate having webs inturned to form ledges underlapping the same, and downturned to form retaining members bearing on the upper surface of the floor plate to hold the same against the ledges, tabs on the side pieces longitudinally disposed in respect thereto to engage the openings of the ilat end pieces for joining the end pieces to the side pieces and handles on the outer sides of the end pieces, whereby upon thedisengagernent of the tabs from the end pieces the tray may be disassembled and upon the engagement of the tabs the tray is assembled.

JACK SOLOMON. 

